Now more than ever before, we need to focus on LIFE. As a FOX NEWS follower, I pray constantly to refuse letting the news depress or stress me! Much of the news is so horrible, that it simply must be a matter of prayer.

Much of the news is all about death: death by ISIS; the death of our American culture due to Godless immoral laws and deluded government leaders; and the spiritual death of a self-serving, self-centered, humanistic and materialistic worldview which has pervaded every area of American life from schools and universities to churches which once glorified God but no longer honor Him or His Word.

Without the Lord Jesus Christ—who took our sin to the Cross, suffered a cruel death for us, rose to conquer death, and LIVES to share His eternal LIFE with any and all who will trust in Him—I would certainly be depressed and stressed!

But I know that God is in control. He is fulfilling His plan from eternity past: “Thy will be done on earth as well as in Heaven.” In the midst of this crazy world, His LIFE prevails and He will return to reign and bring justice to earth.

In our home, Joe and I have two identical hymnbooks. Often, especially on Sundays, I play the beloved old Gospel hymns on the piano and Joe sings along with his hymnal. What a joy this is!

We always include the hymn “Wonderful Words of Life”, by P. P. Bliss. Along with its upbeat, catchy melody this song takes me back many years to when I sang in a junior choir as a child. I recall continually bugging the director by begging her for us to sing “Wonderful Words of Life.” The director tried to explain that we couldn’t sing the same song every Sunday and there were other good hymns to share.

But I still remember the joy I experienced when my wish was granted and our little choir belted out: “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life . . . .”

“Finally, Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time as the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

One would have to be clueless, to doubt the fact that the days are evil. The days have been evil ever since the game-changing fiasco in the garden. But Eden did not have cell phones, a worldwide internet, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and billions of people—starving, warring, and suffering unspeakable horrors. Eden’s evil was not so sophisticatedly organized, so widely and criminally justified by evil national majorities—so whitewashed to appear humanitarian, reasonable, rational, “kind to the planet” and altruistic, as the convoluted sin of these days. It took thousands of years to get here.

Those of us who prefer keeping our heads in Scripture rather than sand believe we are nearing the book of Revelation, when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth to establish justice and reign in His Holy City, Jerusalem. No we are not to name the day or the hour. But YES, we are to watch for the signs prophesied by Old Testament Prophets, the Lord Jesus in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25), and New Testament letters culminating in Jude and Revelation.

The days are evil, and we are nearing the end of the Church Age. In the words of beloved Christian brother, Francis Schaeffer, “How do we then live?” How am I to respond or react to evil times? Am I to go high stress, slap-dashing about in a fervor of Chicken Little-ish behavior? Wrong! Am I to think about nothing else than the fact that the days are evil? Wrong again!

Am I to eschew beauty and instead fashion a drab, lackluster world around me, an environment which says nothing about creative living? How horrible is that!

So what is Right? My quest for an answer always comes back to the above quotes from Philippians and Ephesians, and countless other passages having to do with gracious, Spirit-filled living. Joyous living. God is still in charge. God has always been and will always be in charge.

Yes, we are to speak up and out whenever we can. Yes we are to pray with compassion for those who suffer all over this crazy, convoluted earth. Yet it is still God’s earth. As well as being fully God, Jesus was fully human—modeling the perfect humanity intended for people on earth, until man and woman (not in that order) blew it in the beautiful garden which God had provided for them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will return, to reign on earth for 1000 years. Scripture predicts a New Heaven and New Earth. Certainly we will not fathom details until they unfold, but nowhere in the Bible is “earth” left out of the equation. God created earth, and He loves His creation. In light of that truth I can only gather that we humans, the most valued of His creation, are to go on living and loving the life He has given us on earth.

That means gratitude rather than gloom. That means serenity rather than stress. That means pure, down-to-earth appreciation for and pleasure in His boundless gifts—people to love, gardens to plant, creative hobbies to pursue, art, music, poetry, sports, sunshine, fresh air, the list is endless. Earth gifts!

There is a pathetic “hangover” from past Christian eras and persuasions which taught that physical and soul pleasures were intrinsically evil. Hence: the monks who starved themselves or didn’t converse with each other, those Christians who wear drab clothing because anything eye-catching might lead to idolatry (or immorality), and believers who avoid the enjoyment of any pastime without blatantly “spiritual” overtones.

Asceticism is NOT BIBLICAL. It NEVER WAS BIBLICAL. Asceticism is a boring, yet potentially devastating ploy invented by the Evil One who—if he cannot get Christians to throw in the towel and quit, will instead lure them into nurturing a sense of pride in not doing this and not enjoying that.*

The paradox here is that within God’s creative, expansive and wholesome arena of “this or that”, we are to walk with joyous confidence; it is the pride inherent in asceticism which God hates, and holds us accountable for. The person who lives by asceticism may be bowing before the idol of pride!

Life on earth is to be loved, savored, celebrated, and enjoyed to the max while never losing sight of our Creator, never forgetting that He is the Creator of all things—every breath we inhale, every flower we plant and gather. With our heads full of God’s “whatsoever things”, our lives will shine out to the lost souls who desperately need to know about our Saviour. As long as God’s people remain on earth (His earth!) and continue to redeem the time, there will be some light, and some good, although the days are evil.

Margaret L. Been — January 26, 2016

(First posted in “God’s Word is True”, September 25, 2015)

*THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, by C.S. Lewis provides a witty and wonderful treatise on the pitfall of asceticism.

On the third Sunday in January forty-five years ago, I was catapulted into God’s family by believing in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ—who was crucified for our sin and resurrected to give to anyone who will believe, His everlasting LIFE!

That January day is etched in my heart and head; never before had the sun been so bright and the snow so pristine white. In the morning I went to a new-to-me church where I heard the Gospel preached. I had heard God’s truth on other occasions, without response. But on that day forty-five years ago, I was ready to believe. It had to be true; there was no other answer to life!

As I walked into the church service on that Sunday, the congregation was singing a hymn—and the sound of that singing shocked me. I’d attended church services in “quiet” Protestant churches all my life. Never before had I heard hymns sung the way that congregation was singing. Suddenly it occurred to me: these people really mean what they are singing!

I believe the hymn singing marked the beginning of my new birth process that day. When the Gospel message was preached, everything clicked. It was true, and I knew it. I was a sinner. I needed salvation, and the Lord Jesus is real. He died and rose for me, and now I belonged to Him. I could sing the hymns, and really mean what I was singing.

How I love the old Gospel hymns. Thankfully, the church where I now attend has not discarded the old favorites, although we do have contemporary praise music as well. But there is nothing like the hymns, because so many of them teach as they sing—reinforcing the truths of Scripture, implanting these truths in our minds, challenging, encouraging, comforting us with every line.

Just a few of my favorites are: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (Joseph Scriven and Charles C. Converse), “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” (Helen Howarth Lemmel), and of course John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” which, according to my wishes and depending on God’s will, is scheduled to be played by a bagpiper in kilts at my Going Home Celebration; I have my Celtic heritage to thank for that desire.

My paternal grandfather was a Congregational preacher who loved the Lord Jesus with all his might. I know that my grandparents’ witness and prayers were among the many factors which God used to draw me to Himself. Grandpa Longenecker loved hymns. In his last years on earth he played through his hymnbook on his violin, nearly every day.

I can still picture Grandpa fiddling away. Sometimes he would pause, rest his violin on his knee, and preach at me about the coming glory when he would be face to face with the Lord. At the time, I was a clueless teen-ager thinking about the coming high-school dance (or my coming violin recital) rather than the Lord.

But the shine on Grandpa’s face was not lost to me. His face literally glowed when he talked about the Lord—and his snappy, deep brown eyes sparkled. If I’d been into musing beyond dances and recitals in those days, I might have wondered about the shine and the sparkle! To me he was just “Grandpa”. But how I loved him!

Now, like Grandpa Longenecker, I play through my hymnal frequently—enjoying my favorites and occasionally trying a selection which is new to me. But unlike Grandpa, I play the hymns on my piano. A broken left arm and dislocated wrist curtailed my violin playing back in the 1990s—after I’d finally begun to retrieve some of the technical skills I’d put in storage for decades of raising a family and doing other things. Meanwhile, I never put music per se in storage; I’d kept right on singing and playing my piano through the years.

Today, at age eighty two, I simply do not sing like I once did—unless you call a one-octave tenor bass range “singing”. At least you can call it a “joyful noise”. But I can play my piano, and play I do. It’s great therapy for the soul, as well as for arthritic fingers. “Great is Thy Faithfulness!”

And often while playing I recall that cold Sunday many years ago, when I first heard hymns sung as if the singers really meant it. The power of the hymn!

Margaret L. Been — January 13, 2016

NOTE: The above sunrise photo was taken in our front yard this very morning. Too beautiful for words. Fortunately I grabbed my I-Pad immediately and took pictures of the sunrise over our park. Five minutes later, the colors had disappeared into normal morning daylight. Lovely, but not so spectacular as those first moments of dawn.

Christmas was beautiful. Nothing on earth can match the Wonder which came from above, took on human flesh, died, was resurrected, and dwells with us in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit—God Himself. Great is Thy Faithfulness.

And now we are moving into what is, for me, an exciting time. Since winter solstice, when we had eight hours and fifty-nine minutes of daylight here in Nashotah, Wisconsin, we have gained THREE MINUTES of daylight. THREE MINUTES. Great is Thy faithfulness, indeed! Every year at this time, I experience a surge which continues to expand in increments as the daylight increases.

I can handle winter, and find the snow (which we have finally received) to be gorgeous—even though I no longer roll in it the way I once did. Our corgi, Dylan, rolls in the snow. Living with the cold is do-able because: a) I love Wisconsin through sickness and health, till death do us part; b) Joe and I are blessed with a cozy, warm home; and c) There is plenty of wool around here in the form of blankets, and also wearable art—the fruit of this woman’s endless knit-omania.

I live with the cold, but find decreased daylight to be a piece of work. Often I wonder if diminished daylight challenges my soul because I was summer-born. Likewise, is the post-Christmas energy surge due to increased moments of daylight creating a chemical reaction in the brain, or do I begin to get hyper because of past experience and my knowledge of seasonal changes?

A 19th century ornithologist, Johann Andreas Naumann, noted that caged migratory birds exhibit migratory restlessness (Zugunruhe) and turn to the direction of migration at appropriate times, in response to circannual rhythms. Can human instincts have remained so finely tuned as those of birds, despite our centuries of civilization and cultural conditioning?

The exercise of pondering moot questions never grows old. As I plug in a CD from our large collection of Celtic music, I wonder if it’s “ethnic memory” that causes my blood to throb and my body to move involuntarily to the music. Irish Celtic, yes. And Scottish Celtic? Well, the shrieking of bagpipes* sends me into orbit like no other sound except that of a train whistle. God willing, “Amazing Grace” will thunder via pipes and a piper in kilts at my Going Home Celebration when the time comes.

Here is my known ethnicity, although most of my people came to this continent so long ago that I might logically be considered “American”. My father’s ancestors were Swiss and Alsatian, and my mothers—Scottish and Northern Irish. The Northern Irish were Scots to begin with, but they were sent by the English Crown from the Scottish Borders to “Protestant-ize” Northern Ireland.**

Now I have loved both of my parents and always will, with equal loyalty. They were, and always will be, great individuals for whom I’m eternally grateful. I am pleased to have received, via the gene pool, some of my Dad’s traits along with some of Mother’s.

But yodeling? Big in the Swiss Alps, I know—but a yodel simply does nothing whatsoever for my soul, regardless of the skill with which it may be performed. Line a yodel up against Celtic fiddles, Celtic harps, or Scottish bagpipes and I’m sorry but you don’t even have a hint of a contest.

So why do The Irish Rovers, The Chieftans, and others of their ilk throw me over the moon? It cannot be from childhood exposure, as we never had that kind of music in my home of origin. Music was classical (which I continue to love). My mother was a gifted pianist and I was raised on Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, etc.

For lighter moments we had the comic operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan and some old folk songs such as The Londonderry Air. But the squealing, banging, and thumping of The Chieftains, and the robust, earthy tunes of the Irish Rovers would never have made it to 85 Park Street and other places where I once lived and breathed and had my being. My mother was tremendously delighted with her Campbell of Argyll roots, but I don’t recall her doing cartwheels to bagpipes. So do I squeal, bang, and thump to the Chieftans because of ethnic memory, or is this response simply an acquired taste?

And whether chemically driven or just a matter of understanding how the seasons progress, my passion for lengthening days is far from moot. It’s a tangible reality which inspires a hymn of praise: “Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God our Father.”

Margaret L. Been — December 31st, 2015.

*I love the humorous bit of lore shared by an Irish storyteller at Milwaukee’s Irish Fest: “The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots, but the Scots ‘didn’t get it’.”

**Regardless of Northern Irish roots, my sympathies have always been with the long-suffering and now Republic of Ireland.

Although I admit to sometimes dreaming about warm, sunny places during our long Northern winters, I would not chose to trade my home locale with anyone—anywhere, anytime (except for an occasional week or two in New Mexico).

I truly wonder if friends who live in warm places ever experience springtime euphoria—that crazy, headlong, potentially mindless and blithery joy known as SPRING FEVER, when poetry floods one’s soul! Perhaps that euphoria is common in four season climates around the world. Certainly in the USA, where April has been designated as NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

Anticipating April, while loving every remaining moment of tumultuous Wisconsin March, here are some snatches of poems from kindred souls—in addition to the above lines from one of my most beloved kindred spirit poets, Robert Frost. Also I’ll plug in some of my watercolor renderings. The marriage of a poem and a painting is called Ekphrasis.

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“The Skies can’t keep their secret!

They tell it to the Hills –

The hills just tell the Orchards –

And they – the Daffodils!” Emily Dickinson, #191

“I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore . . . .”

William Butler Yeats, The Lake Isle of Innesfree

“Now as I was young and easy under the apple bough

About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green . . . .”

Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill

“O April, full of breath, have pity on us!

Pale where the winter like a stone has been lifted away, we

emerge like yellow grass.

Be for a moment quiet, buffet us not, have pity on us,

Till the green come back into the vein, till the giddiness pass.”

Edna St. Vincent Millay, Northern April

These are only a whisper of the many poems and poets whom I read again and again—immersed in the introspections, nuances, innuendoes, and life metaphors gleaned from a sensitivity to the turning of the year. I believe that sensitivity is shared by most poetic four-season souls!

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV

This is the greatest GIFT, the gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ Who suffered on an unspeakably cruel cross and died to pay our sin debt—then rose victorious to give us eternal life, HIS abundant life now and forever! I received this priceless gift of God’s Grace forty-four years ago this coming January. The GREATEST GIFT!

I was blessed to have parents and a closely bonded extended family and friends who loved life, valued life, and lived by Godly principles. My grandparents were Bible believing Christians, and in later years I was greatly persuaded that my parents also received the greatest gift—The Lord Jesus Christ.

In my early childhood, family Christmases were somewhat shadowed by a tragedy that had occurred before I was born: my sister, Shirley, had died at age two on Christmas Day. Yet Christmas was always a time for celebration, hope, and joy. We loved being together, we loved the music, we loved the Christmas Story. And we loved giving and receiving gifts.

In light of the fact that we believers are recipients of the Greatest Gift in Heaven and on the earth, because we are walking around everyday with the very life of God in the Person of His Holy Spirit, the most natural thing to do is to give gifts to family members and friends. Up until I believed in the Lord Jesus, I naturally loved giving gifts; it was the most wonderful and fun thing to do. But once I became a believer, God’s Spirit enhanced and blessed our family traditions in such a way that I was, and still am,”over the top” with His joy over our family Christmases.

The Christmas worship services, the music (decades of singing in choirs), favorite recipes (which our children looked forward to each year and still serve to this day), the gatherings with laughter and games we played with the children (and still play, as new family games appear on a regular basis), and our tradition of GIVING became so endowed with implicit depth of meaning and God’s love, that it is inconceivable to imagine any other way to live.

As Joe and I raised our six children, extra people at the family dinner table (year round, not just at Christmas) was a given. Friends were family. If a child or young adult friend of one of our children hung out in our home, he or she automatically became one of the loved ones; they were included in the food, hilarious games, and the Christmas giving.

What is more fun than giving and receiving? It’s not about spending a lot of cash. Although exceptions have been made over the years for some special item or when there is a specific need, it cannot be about spending huge sums. We have, to date, forty-nine immediate family members, not counting myself. But even if we were just a handful of folks, it would still be all about loving each person and deciding what would be fun to give—rather than just blowing money.

I love to make gifts. For years good gifts came out of my oven or off my pantry shelves where bountiful jams and jellies were preserved. Now we have children, their spouses, and their children who share yummy kitchen creations. Although I still bake some things, now I am very happy to paint a watercolor, knit a hat for a child (or an adult), design and knit funky, colorful scarves for all ages, and share my homemade soaps in those lovely gift boxes (just inside the door as you enter JoAnn Fabrics, and at other outlets as well).

Throughout the year, my antennae is up when I browse at art fairs, antique malls, and even rummage sales. By Christmas each year, I’ve managed to acquire a stash for family members and friends who appreciate lovely vintage art glass or a hand crafted piece of stained glass, mosaic, pottery, whatever.

And then there is that fantastic treat, popular as of recent years, the Gift Certificate. Although that may seem to be a cop-out to some, I think the certs are wonderful. I tailor them to individuals. Some of our young families do a lot of home repair and renovation. Home Depot. One family member loves Starbucks, but being a diligently frugal young lady she will pass up that luxury on her budget. I get tremendous pleasure out of giving her a Starbucks cert for her birthday or sometimes Christmas—and picturing her savoring her powerful coffee and perhaps a sweet. And who doesn’t love Barnes & Noble? Books and music—something for every preference and taste.

In our mushrooming family, Joe and I have seventeen great-grandchildren ranging from age twelve down to nine months. Babies typically get little cuddly animals from this Granny—stuffed, not live although I’d love to be given permission to pick out a real kitten or puppy. That is yet to happen! The other children? Books, puzzles, crayons, etc. It’s easy, almost a “DUH”, to find gifts for young people. In fact, all ages are easy, when you long to give some little token of your love and thoughtful consideration.

I constantly find wonderful cooking and crafting books (mostly like new) at a nearby St. Vinnie’s. Again, these gift books are tailored to the recipients and their hobbies and interests. How rewarding is that! I have delighted someone’s heart, for all of $2.19 or thereabout.

Underlying it all is the fact that we love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us—that Greatest Gift of salvation and eternal life. Giving is sharing. When we are filled to overflowing with God’s gift of love, we simply can’t not share with those whom we love. When we are filled to overflowing with God’s Word and His gift of grace, we are delighted to graciously receive and enjoy the gifts which our loved ones have thoughtfully selected or made for us.

Christmas! A stress-free time of joy. That doesn’t mean that our circumstances are all perfect, at all times. For many years our celebration centered at our home, and I fed a lot of people. Granted, sometimes I felt a bit stun-gunned when the season was over, because I had spent physical and emotional energy far beyond any that I possessed. But God has always given me what I needed, to serve Him by serving people. And stun-gunned though I was, it was with a sense of purpose and great blessing that I “collapsed” into a quieter routine (as quiet as a routine can be when raising six children). I knew that God was the center of my giving (as well as my “giving out”) and I rested in Him. I still do. It’s the only way to live, and it’s the only way I want to live!

We have had poignant holidays in the wake of bereavement over loss. We have had tearful Christmases when circumstances were nearly devastating due to a loved one’s rebellious decisions. Four Christmases ago Joe and I were a wall apart in hospital beds, beginning the arduous recovery from major surgeries both occurring in a space of a few hours a couple of days before Christmas.

But it was still, and always will be, Christmas. The Grinch can’t steal it and neither can illness, family sorrows, death, economic circumstances, or any of the world’s weighty problems. Christmas! If a metaphorical Grinch were to come on Christmas Eve and confiscate our trees and our lights and our presents, it would still be Christmas and we would still be giving—because in all of our giving we are giving ourselves, and giving to our Lord the thanksgiving and glory which He deserves. If we have nothing to give, we will still give somehow in some way.

Christmas is stress-free and joyous—a time to celebrate the loving and giving that we treasure around the year. We love because He first loved us. And we give, because He has given us THE GREATEST GIFT. It would be unthinkable to do anything else but give when we have received so much! Merry Christmas!

Margaret Been, December 23rd, 2014

Note: On the bottom left side of the above photo, you will see a charming manger scene created out of popsicle sticks, bits of cloth, and miscellaneous odds and ends. This was custom-made for Joe and me a few years ago by four great-grandchildren under the supervision of their Mom—our granddaughter, Alicia.

If you look closely on the bottom left, you will see little bits of white and purple under or beside the people: Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus in His manger bed, and a shepherd. The little bits are sheep, fashioned from pipe cleaners and dabs of white material, by Alicia’s youngest child—less than two years old at the time if I recall correctly. Now that is a gift to treasure forever!

Sixty-five years ago at approximately 10:30 p. m. on the Friday evening of December 16th, 1949, a sixteen year old girl waited in the deserted parking lot of Shorewood High School. She was waiting for a date with an eighteen year old gentleman whom she had seen many times but only spoken with once—and that was briefly on the telephone.

To back up, here is the scenario. Joe Been had graduated from Wauwatosa* High School in June of 1949. Margaret Longenecker was a junior at that school at the time of the Shorewood parking lot rendezvous. Earlier that week Joe had questioned a mutual friend as to whom he might ask to the Wauwatosa High Christmas Dance to be held on Saturday, December 17th—an evening of ballroom dancing to the music of the local Steve Swedish orchestra.

The mutual friend, Judy**, suggested that Joe ask Margaret who had recently broken up with a one-time steady. So Joe called, and Margaret said “Okay!” She knew Joe by reputation. He was liked by everyone, and loved by a number of females. Please don’t tell Joe that I said the following—but he was something of a star on both the high school tennis and football teams. Joe is very humble, and will tell you otherwise.

My parents were pleased with this dating plan, because Margaret’s Aunt Gladys was a friend of Joe Been’s mother. Aunt Gladys had commented before that the Been boys (Joe and his older brother, Paul) were fine young men and extremely polite. In those days, “polite” was a huge priority.

So arrangements were made for Joe and Margaret to meet the evening before the dance, to get acquainted. Joe (a student at what was then the UW Extension in Milwaukee) had a part time grocery store job, and would get off work at about the ending of the Wauwatosa High School vs. Shorewood High basketball game. Margaret and Joe would meet in the Shorewood parking lot after the game.

Switching to a first person account, if there ever was such a thing as butterflies in one’s stomach I (Margaret) had butterflies all week in anticipation of this rendezvous. I was terribly excited, and I didn’t really know why—so excited that I failed to pay attention to the basketball game and I normally enjoyed watching basketball.

After the game I went to the parking lot, and stood under a tall lamp post with a bright light. Cars drove in and out, picking people up. Cars of students who drove left the parking lot. The Shorewood team strode past me, clueless to who I was and why I was there. Then the Wauwatosa team passed by. I knew most of those guys, and several of them were concerned.

“Margaret, are you okay? Need a ride?”

“No, I’m fine thank you. I’m meeting someone.”

How astounding to recall that I never had even a shadow of fear, standing there in the vacant parking lot. I really was fine! At that time in history Milwaukee, Wisconsin was known to be one of the safest, most wholesome, most strongly family oriented big cities on the face of the planet. Fear simply never entered my simple mind!

Finally, there was Joe driving his family’s car. He was sorry that he’d been unavoidably detained at work. He took me to a soda fountain restaurant called DUTCH TREAT. Now Dutch Treat usually meant that everyone paid for their own, so I wondered if I would have to pay. “No,” was Joe’s answer.

I was traditionally conservative with money—my own and anyone else’s—but something snapped that night and I ordered an extravagant “treat”: a strawberry shortcake dessert which cost $.42—note that the forty-two is to the right of the decimal. Forty twocents. I knew I was falling in love right on the spot because, normally a voracious eater, I simply could not eat. I lost my appetite and, while gazing at Joe, I just stirred and stirred the strawberries, ice cream, and cake until it turned into soup.

Joe asked, “Aren’t you going to eat that?”

I answered that I couldn’t, and would he like it? Joe’s retort was classic—indicative of his charming, forthright personality to this day: “I would eat it if you hadn’t stirred it into mush!”

On the way home from this food fiasco, Joe mentioned that he and his brother had bought a set of dishes for their mother, for Christmas. Perhaps that clinched my gut instinct. I come from a dish family. My grandmothers loved their dishes. My own mother loved her dishes. Even my father loved our dishes.

And, odd child that I was, I’d loved*** dishes from little on. A guy who would buy dishes for his mom had to be very special. And special he is—even more so now, sixty-five years later! And guess what? He has bought me a lot of dishes!

A Lifetime Rendezvous!

Margaret L. Been, December 16th, 2014

*Only in Wisconsin might you find a name like “Wauwatosa”. We have lots of them, and many begin with “W”: Waukesha, Waukon, Waupaca, Wausau, Winnebago, Winneconne, etc. Well, on second thought Washington State has some names like that as well.

**Many years later, Joe and I named one of our daughters after that “Judy”.

***Obviously I’m using the word “love” very loosely. I know the difference between agape, philia, and eros—and what I am calling a “love” for dishes! I’m not even sure the Greeks have a word for the love of dishes to eat off of—or for their wonderful food dishes— baklava, spanakopita or whatever. But we English speakers could definitely use a few more words for the various kinds of love!!! 🙂